VILLAGE TRANSFORMATION

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Meanwhile a village in northern Gyeonggido Province that has been declining due to decreasing population, will be transformed into a brand new share-hotel town. Empty buildings and homes will get a major makeover under the project. Here are the details

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This town in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggido Province is near the inter-Korean border. With a decreasing population and contracting economy, there are some 40 empty houses in the town at the moment accounting for 27% of all empty homes in all of Yeoncheon-gun County.

[Soundbite] JEONG TAE-OK(BAEKUI-RI TOWN CHIEF) : "Wild animals sneak into empty homes, startling townspeople. It's just not a pretty sight overall."

The county and Gyeonggido Province have set out to resuscitate this waning village through a complete makeover. A police station building at the entrance to the town is getting ready to turn into a check-in center for a new town hotel. The town's old inn will be transformed into a guesthouse for tourists. This would-be town hotel will also be directly run by a corporate entity set up by the town that will employ a dozen local residents. Restaurants and cafes will also open so that the entire town can function as a full-fledged hotel.

[Soundbite] YOON BAEK-HYEON(YEONCHEON-GUN COUNTY) : "The project aims to attract tourists to boost local consumption."

The project is said to cost over 2 billion won and is expected to conclude by the end of next year.